21 posts categorized "Mike Adams"

Rich Dubee likes Phillippe Aumont’s strong will. The
Phillies pitching coach just wishes the reliever were a little more open to
change.

Now is Aumont’s best chance to show he can and will.

For the second time this season, the Phillies optioned
Aumont to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The club purchased the contract of Luis
Garcia, who will take Aumont’s place in the bullpen. To make room for Garcia on
the 40-man roster, the Phillies shifted Mike Adams to the 60-day disable list.

“He believes in what he’s doing is going to work,” Dubee said. “You
need belief in what you’re doing, but at the same time I think there’s more
upside if he gets lengthened out a little bit. I don’t mind headstrong guys. If
you don’t believe in what you’re doing, you’re not going to be successful. On
the other hand, you have to have some self evaluation to see what’s working and
what isn’t working.

Aside from wanting Aumont to be more willing to make try new
things, even if they are uncomfortable at first, Dubee emphasized the
importance of Aumont getting more ground ball outs and him lengthening his
stride.

“I think he’s got one ground ball
out this month,” Dubee said. “He should be a sinkerball, ground ball machine.
His fastball has been flat. So, give him some more reps [with the IronPigs].

“He’s hard to give a lot of stuff
to, because what he’s doing, he feels comfortable doing. Personally I think he
needs more length in his stride. For a big guy he should be getting out on top
of hitters. But you try to do that there is not that comfort zone, that trust
zone. Those are things hopefully they’ll chip away at and get him some length,
get him on top of hitters more often, throwing from 60-feet at 6-foot-7. But
that’s tough to do at this level when you’re looking for consistency and
looking for performance.

Garcia has climbed from Single-A Clearwater to the big
leagues in two and a half months. He was signed by the Phillies on April 22 and
added to Single-A Clearwater’s roster. He was promoted to Reading just more
than a month later. Three weeks later, he was called up to Lehigh Valley, where
in six games he posted a 1.29 ERA. In 7.0 innings pitched, he has allowed five
hits, one run, four walks and two wild pitches. He’s fanned six.

Dubee has never seen Garcia pitch but he said all the
reports on him have been good. He could be thrown into a game as early as
tonight, despite the fact that the pitching coach hasn’t seen him pitch.

The season finale of The Great Sports Debate airs this week, and I was a guest along with host John Clark and panelists Tony Bruno and Harry Mayes.

We talk lots of Phillies in my two segments. Does the bullpen need help? Who is the most likely to get traded if the Phillies go in that direction? Did Ruben Amaro Jr. did a worse job constructing the bullpen or the outfield? Who will have a bigger second half: Ryan Howard or Dom Brown?

You can hear us talk about all that and more when it airs tonight at 7 p.m. on The Comcast Network (TCN). It also will be on Friday at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on CSN.

It seems like a never-ending quest for the Phillies in the last two years.

A season after their eighth-inning debacles were all the talk, Ruben Amaro Jr. thought he had solidified how the set-up role would go.

It hasn't worked out.

With news emerging Tuesday night that Mike Adams has three tears in his shoulder (both labrum and rotator cuff), he admitted to reporters in San Diego that it is unlikely he pitches again this year. He told traveling writers he's still deciding between doing rehab to strengthen the muscles around the damaged areas or surgery.

The problem is that he could spend all that time doing rehab and might still need surgery. And having surgery very soon doesn't guarantee he'll be ready for the start of the 2014 season.

"Not good," Adams told writers in San Diego on Tuesday.

Neither is what's transpired with the Phillies' bullpen --- again.Their team bullpen ERA sits at 4.67, second worst in Major League Baseball (only Houston's is higher at 4.76; the ML average is 3.65).

Their eighth-inning ERA is a whopping 5.38. And some of the options they have to turn to haven't fared well so far.

Antonio Bastardo, the guy most likely to take over that role, has a .357 BAA (10-for-28). And earlier in the season when Phillippe Aumont had chances while Adams was on the DL, opponents were hitting .478 (11-for-23) off him in the eighth inning.

Things might get worse before they better. But that's really nothing new when it comes to the bullpen recently, especially when it comes to the eighth inning.

The club's eighth-inning ERA (4.67) in 2012 was the third worst
in the National League. Only Houston (5.00) and Milwaukee (4.78) had higher
ERAs in the eighth innings of games.

In the last four years, it wasn't something the Phillies had to worry about. From 2008-11, Phillies pitchers posted an ERA of 3.94 or lower in
the eighth inning of games. You have to go back to 2007 to find an
eighth-inning ERA higher than what they put up last season or this season (4.86).

Take this into consideration: the Phillies have allowed at least one run in the final three innings in 15 of their last 20 games. And in one of the games they didn't, pitchers had already allowed 10 runs before that point.

In addition, it's being reported that Mike Stutes (biceps tendinitis) will not throw anytime before July 5. Jeremy Horst (elbow inflammation) will begin a throwing program today and could be activated in about two weeks.

It certainly doesn't sound like you should be expecting help in the near futures.

"Right now we don't have any solutions," Amaro told writers in San Diego. "If we could find a
solution to fill the hole or fill a need we'll try. It doesn't mean we're not
going to try. I'll be on the lookout for it. But based on the conversations I've
had with teams already about these particular players who might be in play, I'm
not optimistic about that. A lot of people are looking for bullpen help and,
naturally, demand is very high."

It may be hard to believe, but another Phillies reliever is going on the disabled list.

And the news about Mike Adams, who landed on the DL on Saturday (backdated to Friday), got worse.

A day after pitching in relief of Jonathan Pettibone, who left with back tightness, Stutes admitted he rushed his warmup (he didn't get to stretch) and now he's headed to the DL with biceps tendonitis. He said it's been bothering him off and on.

"It’s been sore for a few days, but just something I’ve tried to pitch from through," Stutes said. "We decided it’s better to not let it become something more major."

To take Stutes' spot on the 25-man roster, Phillippe Aumont was called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Adams is getting a second opinion for his biceps tendonitis from Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who did Roy Halladay's shoulder surgery last month. When the team heads to San Diego, Adams will see ElAttrache in L.A.

The Phillies' setup man admitted he's scared.

"We did an MRI and there’s some concern," he said. "After the game Wednesday night , I felt fine. I felt fine in the game. I felt fine afterward. I did my workouts. Iced. Then I went home and that’s when it really set it. I tried to lift my little boy up and I wasn’t able to do that. Just lifting my arm up was pretty uncomfortable."

Fellow reliever Jeremy Horst is also on the DL with a left elbow sprain.

Mike Adams was placed on the 15-day DL this afternoon with what the team says is biceps tendonitis. The Phillies set-up man already spent 15 days on the DL with a right back strain.

It's clear Adams hasn't been himself much of the year. His velocity has been down, he's had control issues and he's allowed five home runs in 28 appearances (25 IP), his most since giving up five home runs in 2011.

To take Adams' spot on the 25-man roster, the Phillies promoted right-handed reliever J.C. Ramirez from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He needed to be added to the 40-man roster, so in turn, the club designated Michael Martinez for assignment.

Michael Young is back from bereavement leave/family medical emergency list, but he’s not in today’s starting line-up.

Freddy Galvis is starting at third base and hitting eighth.

Young said he got a phone call about a half hour before last Tuesday’s game in Boston saying there was an issue with his 9-month-old son Antonio, and his wife Cristina, ended up taking him to the ER.

“I don’t really remember too much about that game,” Young said. “I was on a different planet that night."

Young played Tuesday and then flew home to Texas to be with his family.

“We had known about it for a while,” he said without being specific. “We had set up an appointment to see a specialist. Didn’t get to that appointment. It was best for my wife to take him to the ER that day and that’s what I’ve been doing, tending to my little boy. Hospital bed is no place for a 9-month-old baby boy.”

Young said Antonio is home and comfortable now. Although they are still waiting on quite a few test results, the family “got a lot of potentially bad things ruled out, which is great news,” Young added.

The Phillies third baseman will be available to pinch hit tonight and will likely be back in the starting lineup Tuesday, manager Charlie Manuel said.

“I’m happy to be here,” Young said. “I could always count on baseball to be kind of my sanctuary, another place where I can be me and cut it loose and go out and compete at the highest level, which is who I am and what I do and what I love to do the most.”

DINGERS: Manuel said Mike Adams is available tonight, but he’s still not sure about Jonathan Papelbon, who was not available Sunday because of illness. “Looked kind pale-looking,” Manuel added. … The club kept rookie Cesar Hernandez, and instead sent Michael Martinezback to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make room for Young.

Is anyone really surprised with all these injuries facing the Phillies?

If you are, you shouldn't be.

When the season opened, the average age of the Phillies starting eight (which included Dom Brown, 25, and Delmon Young, 27), is 29.6. That's two years older than the Washington Nationals’ eight starters (27.5) and three years older than the Atlanta Bravers’ (26.5).

Injuries will creep up more often and with more severity as athletes age. Heck, I'm not a professional athlete and I don't get nearly the treatment they get from trainers, chiropractors, etc., and at 33 I definitely don't feel the same way as I did five or six years ago. My right Achilles gets tighter than it ever has when I run. My knees ache no matter how far or how long I run. Don't even get me started with my shins.

So I can only imagine how those guys feel. But again, no one, particularly those at the helm, should be surprised when one of the "older" guys goes on the DL or reports a new injury.

The latest? Chase Utley. He is reportedly having an MRI on Thursday and according to writersin Florida, the team is already talking about who might replace him. Sure sounds like they're thinking the DL is a possibility.

After the 2011 season, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. talked about the importance of having younger, everyday position players. While that has happened in some instances (Ben Revere, Brown), older players (Michael Young, 36, Ryan Howard, 33, Utley, Jimmy Rollins, 34, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, who turns 35 in August, etc.) make up the core of this team.

"I think we do have to try to get young if we can," Amaro said after the Philliest lost in the NLDS in 2011. "It’s not easy to do. We did get a little bit younger with our staff. At some point we’re going to have to get younger with our everyday position players. We’ll work to try to do that. It’s a young game and it’s played by young players."

Not in Philadelphia. And the result seems to be injury after injury. Halladay, 36, recently had shoulder surgery and may not pitch again for months. Howard is having trouble with the meniscus in his knee and isn't sure he can play every day from here on out. Carlos Ruiz, 34, is on the DL and will be out 3-4 weeks with a strained right hamstring. Mike Adams, who turns 35 in July, is on the DL, although the reports are that he could be back next week. Utley, 34, could wind up there, too.

Reliever Mike Adamswas placed on the disabled list with a right mid-back strain today. The move is retroactive to May 11. To take his place on the Phillies' 25-man roster, catcher Humberto Quintero was called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

That move tells me that Carlos Ruiz will either be out for at least a few days because of his strained right hamstring or may even go on the disabled list. Ruiz left after the second inning of Sunday's game when he hurt it on his way to third base.

Another roster move will have to be made to accommodate Tyler Cloyd, who has been pegged to start Tuesday's game in Miami. Although Cloyd has not be activated yet, he was in Philadelphia on Sunday and flew with the team that night to Florida. That's when Ruiz might be sent to the DL.

Adams is eligible to come off the DL on Sunday.

We also are still waiting for official word about Ruiz's MRI and Ryan Howard's (left knee) MRI. Both had MRIs this morning.

To fill Quintero's spot with the IronPigs, the club promoted catcher Justin Dalles from Class-A Lakewood.

Ryan Howard did not play because of a sore left knee. He is having an MRI on Monday.

"Yesterday is when it kicked in more than normal," he said. "It's been acting up since spring training. But I’ve been able to tough my way through it."

Charlie Manuel said Howard was available to pinch hit today, but added that he was trying to stay away from him. And his availability tomorrow is in question.

"I'm kind of leary [about starting him tomorrow]," Manuel said.

Carlos Ruiz, who left after the second inning with a right hamstring strain, is staying in Philadelphia to have an MRI on Monday morning. He said he is flying to Miami on Tuesday.

In case the team decides to put Ruiz on the D.L. right away, they are sending Lehigh Valley catcher Humberto Quintero to Miami to be with the team tomorrow.

"It was a bad feeling because it surprised me when that happened," said Ruiz, who said he felt something pop as he headed from second to third in the second inning. "And it happened like that (he snaps his fingers). "It was the last thing that I expected to happen because I was feeling great."

Mike Adams, who last pitched on May 10, still could land on the disabled list, but the Phillies aren't sure one way or another. He played catch Sunday for the first time in a week.

"Everything felt good," he said of his mild, mid-back strain. "The shoulder felt like s**t. But the back felt great. I feel really good. We'll see how it goes. That's all I can tell you.”

Michael Young has played even better than expected as the Phillies’ full-time third baseman.

Today he’ll get a new challenge.

With Ryan Howard out of the lineup, Young is starting at first base, a position he hasn’t played since he started a regular-season game there for the Rangers on Sept. 28, 2012.

Young didn’t get any action at first base during spring training, nor has he played there at all when the team takes infield before batting practice.

“I put [my first baseman's glove] on my hand and bang my fist in it, but that’s pretty much the most action it’s seen,” he said.

Young, who has played 77 games at first base in his career and owns a .993 fielding percentage there, found out this morning he’d shift across the diamond just before the lineup was posted.

“He doesn’t need to give me a head’s up,” Young said. “He ran it by me and I had no problem with it. I love to play. I feel like I’m prepared. I’m ready. If anything, I look forward to it. I look forward to new challenges.”The Phillies face Homer Bailey today. Last time they faced him (April 16), Bailey threw eight-shutout innings. He allowed only two hits, struck out 10 and didn’t walk anyone.

As you can see Delmon Youngis not in the starting lineup. He’s 2-for-15 (.133) in his last four games. Even though the Phillies are facing a righty, Howard is not in the lineup. In his last seven games, he’s hitting .149 (7-for-47) with 20 strikeouts, three walks, two extra base hits and only four RBIs.